Twisted Sight
by AnnaMarie890
Summary: After a group of test subjects escape from The School, Doctor Timothy S. Brady is tasked with creating a method to track them down. His plan - to create a mutant lighter and faster that the Erasers. One that will be able to track down the surviving subjects of The Angel Experiment.
1. Chapter 1

My head ached unbearably. My vision was cloudy and I could feel my eyelids growing steadily heavier as seconds passed by. A sudden, unpleasant shock down my spine alerted me that my task was not yet completed. Fighting back against by body, I rose shakily to my feet and stood to attention.

I couldn't see the clear blue sky behind the thick blanket of dull clouds, but I knew it was there. I couldn't see the sun, but I could feel its gentle warmth on my skin. I was almost finished, this would soon be over, and I would be back – safe—in my room.

My opponents circled me. There were three of them, the Erasers, all much taller and stronger than me. But I was not bred for strength or size.

I was bred for speed. Agility; it was my best trait.

Gathering the little strength I had left, I raised my clenched fists, guarding my already bleeding face. Snarling wildly, one of the Erasers let out his beastly side, his body contorting unnaturally and morphing into some creature suspended between wolf and man. He lunged, claws like needles slashing at my small body.

I dropped to ground, flattening my stiff body against the concrete as the Eraser flew over me, his claws narrowly missing my forehead. Landing, he immediately dug his feet into the pavement and swung around to come at me again. I rolled onto my stomach and pushed myself upright just in time to have the air knocked out of me by a second Eraser.

He smiled menacingly at me as I doubled over and fell to my knees. My vision momentarily faded, but the adrenaline that was now coursing hot through my veins refused to be defeated.

My eyes snapped open, and I looked up at the Eraser in front of me.

My right eye was still cloudy, but images in my left eye were crystal clear. I could see the Eraser's face as he slowly backed away from me, his smile fading. In my peripheral, could see the White Coats lean forward in anticipation. I drew in a sharp breath and got to my feet, every muscle in my body tight as elastic.

"Get her!"

I heard a voice yell, and at once, the three Erasers charged me.

Whipping around, I saw the closest Eraser draw his arm back, preparing to swing. My keen eyesight saw the second coming towards me from my right, braced for a body slam. Before I even had time to draw a breath, I ducked the punch from the first Eraser and grabbed his arm as it sailed by me. Pulling him in front of me, the other Eraser slammed into him, and both went hurtling to the ground. A low snarl from the third Eraser was quickly followed by a hard kick that landed straight on the small of my back.

"Hey!" A voice from the sidelines called. "Be careful!"

The Eraser turned to the voice and growled menacingly at the speaker. I seized my opportunity. Leaping upright, I flung both my arms around the Erasers neck and squeezed for all I was worth. The Eraser flailed his arms about wildly, trying desperately to dislodge me from his shoulders. But I hung on. Erasers were slow, and definitely not flexible. I had them outmatched by that much. Relying heavily on my body's ability to bend and twist, I hung on to the Eraser's neck until he finally slowed his movements, gasping for air.

The other two Erasers had finally composed themselves and now came hurtling towards me and my prisoner. One of them swung his claws at my face, but I snapped my neck back and avoided his blow, returning it with a swift kick to his throat that sent him sprawling back. I felt the body beneath me shudder and realized I was actually killing the Eraser. Hastily, I let go and leapt off of him.

Finally, the last Eraser stood facing me. He clenched and unclenched his clawed fists, but didn't make a move. I stared expressionlessly at him with my one twisted eye, and he flinched, looking away. I smiled inwardly to myself. All of the Erasers feared my gaze, they were afraid of my one golden eye.

A whistle blew, and the Eraser hastily backed away from me, morphing back into his humanoid state.

"Well done, you lasted much longer this time forty-three."

I turned to the speaker, one of the White Coats, and nodded. He held out his hand, motioning me to come over to where he and a few other White Coats were standing. I did as instructed, and he picked me up, setting me down on the table.

"Let's have a look at those wings; you took a pretty bad hit to your back."

I simply nodded and turned around so he could look at my wings. Undoing the buttons in the back of my shirt, he ran his hand down my back before gently pulling my left wing out.

I flinched. My wings were still growing in, and though they were floppy and useless, it still hurt to flex them. My muscles weren't yet used to bearing their weight. The leathery skin that grew out from my back and along my wings was limp like wet paper.

"They are coming in nice, very good. Do they fold in comfortably?"

Again, I nodded. The White Coat folded up my wing back into place, lightly pressing it into the indentations on either side of my spine.

The sudden, heavy scent of fresh fruit filled the air, and I looked up. One of the White Coats pulled out a ripened mango, holding out to me. I smiled and took it in my hands, sinking my fangs into its juicy sweetness. The White Coats all smiled at me. Then, one of the tallest White Coats, a lady with brown hair and glasses, pulled the White Coat who had checked my wings over to the side. With my keen hearing, I heard every word of their conversation.

"She's not like the Angel Experiment, Tim; we can't just clip her wings to keep her from flying off."

"I really don't think she would attempt to fly off, she's happy here, look at her."

"You didn't think that before either, did you?" There was a pause in the conversation, and then the lady in the glasses spoke again.

"I suggest you arrange a separate confinement area for her. Perhaps have her cell connected to a large indoor arena where she can fly about. Whatever you decide, I strongly suggest you keep her indoors at all times from now on."

"I can't do that to her, she loves coming outside…"

The lady held up her hand, and the other White Coat ceased talking. A harsh look from behind her glasses, and the man nodded and said.

"Alright, I understand."

"Very good. Now, I want to see the other one. Can you go get her?"

"Yes ma'am."

The White Coat came over to me and picked me up, hoisting me onto his hip.

"Come on, let's get you back inside."

I nodded and continued eating my mango. The White Coat carried me back inside the whitewashed building and down the cool hallway. Opening a clear bulletproof glass door, he set me down inside my room and took my shock collar off.

"There you go, that probably feels a little better."

He turned to leave, but I reached up and grabbed his coat, causing him to look back down at me. I folded my pinkie and thumb into my palm and made a "W" with my fingers, then brought my hand to my open mouth.

"Oh, you want water?"

I nodded.

"Alright, I'll be right back."

I smiled and climbed up to my perch.

My perch, as I called it, was a metal rod with a leather pad around it that ran across my room close to the ceiling, from one wall to the other. I climbed up to it and looped my knees around the leather, hanging quite comfortably upside down.

See, I am number forty-three in the Chiroptera Trial. We are bred to be lighter, smaller, and faster than the Erasers, and trained to track down just about anything. A heightened sense of smell and impeccable hearing are only some of the traits we possess. Our skin is thick and leathery, our ears large and somewhat pointy, and on our backs, we bear the wings of a bat.

But, our gifts ever have their… effects. We can't stand upright; it would tear the membrane of our wings from our backs. And our sight, well… Many of the original experiments were conducted using Vampire bats.

Not me.

I carry the DNA of a Fruit bat. Where Vampire bats rely on echolocation and heat to find their way in the darkness, Fruit bats instead have nearly perfect eyesight, something that had not been factored into the original equation, and something that my body didn't seem to accept.

My right eye was natural, human almost. It was a hazel green. My left eye, however, is nothing of the sort. My left eye is most often twisted, looking in all different directions while my other eye remains focused. And my left eye is gold.

I don't know how or why it happened, but it did. My left eye responded to the DNA, and is nearly perfect. My right eye though, remained normal.

The White Coat came back with a jug full of crisp, cool water. He set it down on the floor of my room.

"There you go." He said and looked up at me. From where I hung upside down, I held my hand to my lips and then drew it out towards him. He sort of smiled and said,

"You're welcome."

Oh, that's another thing about me. I cannot speak.


	2. Chapter 2

The hours I spent in my room passed uneventfully. Occasionally, a White Coat would pass by, usually stopping to look at me a moment. As usual, I spent most of my time hanging from my perch, until I finally got bored enough to climb down and wander about the floor of my room. My feet had barely touched the ground for but a moment, when my sensitive ears heard the bolt to my door unlocking.

Spinning around, I looked up as the Whitecoat entered my room.

In case you didn't notice, there is one particular Whitecoat who looks after me most often. I've heard the other Whitecoats call 'Tim' or 'Timothy'. But I didn't really like that name, because when I look at him, with his ruffled brown hair and brown eyes, he just didn't look like a 'Tim'. At one point, someone, though I don't remember who, had called him 'Mister Brady'. Ever since I heard that, it was decided in my own mind his name was Brady, no matter what the other Whitecoats called him.

"Come on, up we go. I have somebody I want you to meet."

Reaching up, I took his outstretched hands and he pulled me up, gently hoisting me up onto his hip as he usually did.

Like I said, Brady is pretty much the only Whitecoat who really looks after me, or interacts with me at all. The other Whitecoats may bring me food or water or something, but anything else, Brady is always the one who is overseeing it. He has always been with me ever since I can remember, even the in the old days when I was wild and reckless, and had to be kept in a cage.

"Here we are."

Brady opened a big glass door and set me down inside, closing the door behind me.

It was a small space, probably only about twice the size of my own room. For me, it was perfect. I loved smaller places, they feel safe.

My new roommate however, apparently felt differently.

A small girl, not much taller than me, was thrashing about wildly at the other end of the room. She pounded her fists against the glass, yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs.

I watched her, confused.

She had bright, ruby red hair that grew down to her waist, and eyes to match, depending on how you looked at them. Her eyes seemed to flicker back and forth between black and dull red, almost as if they couldn't make up their minds. Her skin was shiny and tan, almost red as well if you squinted real hard.

But the thing I found most interesting were her ears.

They were big and pointed, kind of like mine, but mine rested close to my skull. Hers poked out away from her head, and to me looked almost like fox ears.

"Come on! You great big deformed puppy! Afraid to get your butt kicked by a little foxy, huh? Is that it?!"

The girl jumped about wildly, still pounding her fists as she taunted the Erasers on the other side of the glass. Most of them just ignored her, but a few others were beginning to get annoyed. They growled at her, their faces flickering to look more like snouts.

"Twenty-Seven! That is enough!"

A voice came over the intercom. The girl lowered her fists to her side, but continued to snarl back at the Erasers.

Bored, I looked up for a suitable perch. Though nothing would be quite as comfortable as my perch back in my own room, I settled for a steel crossbeam up towards the ceiling. Moistening my lips, I began to climb, that is until the voice came over the intercom again.

"No, no, wait a minute Forty-Three, I need you to stay on the ground for a while. I want you to say hello and get to know each other. After all, you two are going to be training together from now on."

The crimson girl turned around and eyed me curiously. Her eyes met mine a moment, and she jumped, averting her eyes. Then, slowly, she inched towards me.

"Hey… what's up?"

I gave a half-hearted smile and waved at her, then curled up by the wall. Slowly, the girl sank down next to me, twiddling her fingers on her knees

"So… um… well what's your name? Mine's Crimson."

I cocked my head at her, mouthing her words curiously. 'Crimson' what kind of a name was that? And who would give it to her? The Whitecoats? So far as I knew, they didn't name each subject individually. Did I have a name? I just had gotten used to being called 'Forty-Three.'

"Yeah, Crimson. That's my name. I gave it myself."

As she spoke, she ran a hand threw her ruby red hair and pulled it over her shoulder, smiling.

"Makes sense, right?"

I kind of laughed and nodded. I guess it did make sense.

"So, what about you? What's your name?"

I hung my head, my one eye jumping about, as if looking for an answer. Finally, I called on the one thing I could know for certain.

Raising my hands, I held four fingers up on my left hand and three on my right.

"Seven?" Crimson raised an eyebrow, obviously not understanding.

I rolled my eye, and held up my hands, shaking the left, then the right.

"Oh, I get it… Forty-Three, right?"

I clapped and nodded at her, smiling.

"So, wait, can you not speak or something?"

My face saddened and I shook my head.

"Oh… I'm sorry I didn't realize… this whole time I thought you were just being shy."

I shrugged and held up my right hand, signing 'it's OK'. Crimson just stared at me, confused.

_Oh, never mind._ I thought and flung my hands up in despair. Crimson smiled awkwardly and apologized again.

This wasn't what I was used to. Usually, I just let my fingers do the talking. But if what the Whitecoats said was true, if I was to be teamed up and training alongside Crimson, I was going to have to make sure she could understand me.

For the first time in my life, I desperately wanted to speak.

"Well," Said Crimson. "Mute or not, 'Fourty-Three is no suitable name."

She stood up and wiped her hands on her pants, and then she stroked her chin solemnly.

"Don't you worry chica, I will find you a name."


	3. Chapter 3

The months that followed my introduction to Crimson were consumed by rigorous training. She and I were taught how to track, how even the tiniest scents and sounds could provide clues. Both Crimson and I had incredible senses, much stronger than any average human. Though, I quickly found that Crimson did have one weakness: her sight was nowhere as keen as mine.

Or at least, half of mine.

I had been able to teach Crimson a few signs, just the basics, so that I could communicate with her. Her signs were sloppy, but at least it was something. I had heard that Brady intended to teach her basic sign language once our training was complete.

Then, one night as I lay awake, Brady came unannounced to our room and picked me up.

"Come on little one, I need to have a look at those wings."

Adrenaline began pounding through my veins. To be completely honest, I was afraid. Many of the other test subjects that came before me had been unable to fly. Most often, the thin membrane that connects our wings to our back had ripped away, unable to support the weight. I shuddered to think the same would happen to me.

Carrying me into a big, open room with a high ceiling, Brady brought me over to a table flanked by four other Whitcoats. Setting me down, he undid the buttons on the back of my shirt.

"Alright, we're gonna take this nice and slow, okay?"

I nodded, trying to hide my anxiety.

Slowly, Brady pulled my left wing out, allowing it to stretch out to its full length. He held it out, giving my muscles a chance to grow familiar to the feeling of bearing its weight. Then, wrapping it around me, he pulled out the other one.

I sat motionless. My muscles were weak and my wings floppy, but they still held together, even fully extended.

"Can you move forty-three?"

Shaking, I tensed the muscles in my shoulders, causing my wings to move a couple of inches.

"Okay, very good, can you extend them on your own?"

Slowly, painfully, I rolled my shoulders forward and extended my wings. I could feel tension along my spine as the membrane of my wings grew taut.

All of the Whitecoats seemed to hold their breath, and for a few horribly tense moments, nothing happened.

Then, Brady smiled at me.

"Very good, your wings are strong forty-three."

All of the Whitecoats smiled at me as well. Some cheered and a few others patted Brady on the back.

"Alright, now then," Said Brady. "We'll start exercising those wings in the morning; better get a good night's rest."

With that, he picked me up and took me back to my room. Setting me down, he ruffled my hair.

"Good job." He said. Looking up at him, I smiled. It was good to know that I had made him proud, that I had in a way proved my worth.

Not more than twenty seconds had passed when Crimson game bounding over to me.

"Hey chica!" She said, flopping down next to me. "What did the Whitecoat want?"

Scooting away from her, I pulled my wings out and wrapped them about me. Crimson's mouth fell open a moment, then she closed it. Leaning forward, she sniffed my wings curiously.

"Are you gonna be able to fly?"

Though I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to be able to fly or not, I nodded. Crimson grinned and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh, that's so cool! Wish I could fly… but I guess that wouldn't work, foxes don't have wings. But then… if foxes did have wings… oh can you imagine how cool that would be?! I bet that …."

Crimson's rambling grew faint in my ears as I slipped slowly into unconsciousness and fell back asleep.

The next morning brought with it many challenges. I had been roused early and was quickly told to stretch out and get loose. Crimson joined me a while later, her red hair tangled and her eyes still half closed.

"Good morning chica." She said.

Ignoring her, I continued doing push-ups, my wings dangling by my sides.

I found that exercising my shoulders also built muscle in my wings. Every time I would flex my arms, my wings would tense slightly. A series of muscle-loosening exercises were added to my daily routine, and soon I could at the very least pull my wings out and wrap them around me quite easily, which I now found extremely comfortable when sleeping. I was still nervous though.

My wings had been able to put up with this much, but how much more could they take?

It was the night before my first flight. I hung awake, gazing blankly at the wall, my wings wrapped securely about me.

"Chica?" Crimson's voice came from somewhere beneath me. "Are you awake?"

I moaned and tossed my head back.

Crimson climbed up towards the metal bar I hung from, balancing neatly on top of it. She crawled towards me, sitting up by where my knees looped around the bar.

"Are you nervous for tomorrow? Cause I would be, I mean – "

Before she could continue, I pulled my wings away from me and swung up so I was sitting on top of the bar next to her.

Looking her in the eyes with my right human one, I shook my head.

"You aren't nervous at all?"

I hardened my gaze and shook my head again. Truthfully, I was incredibly nervous, but I wasn't about to admit it.

What if I couldn't fly?

Then I would be just another failure, just another number written down on the list.

I was forty-three.

Forty-two had gone before me. Forty-two had failed. Forty-two hadn't made the cut. I refused to be just another number, just another failure. I had it in me, I knew it. I was different than the other forty-two.

I would be the first success.


	4. Chapter 4

I sat anxiously on the floor, looking up at the door. I hadn't been able sleep at all, though Crimson had settled down in the corner and fallen sound asleep some time ago. I had spent most of the hours of the night crawling aimlessly about, gently extending and stretching my wings. Now, as I saw the first rays of sunlight filtering in the windows, I stared blankly at the door.

Finally, after what seemed like years, I could hear footsteps outside my door.

Brady pulled open the door and smiled down and me, picking me up as he always did.

"Alright, here we go."

After taking some blood samples and fitting me with another shock collar, Brady and a few other Whitecoats led me into the same room with the high ceiling as before.

Brady pulled each of my wings out again, then using arm signals he had me stretch them out and allow my muscles to gain the memory of specific controls. Then, as the other Whitecoats resituated themselves at the other end of the room, Brady knelt down in front of me, his eyes level to my own. Though I tried to meet his eyes, some part of me just couldn't.

"Look, I know you are scared. Just don't worry, and do your best. Don't worry if your first flight is crooked and twisted, just relax and let your instincts take over. It will become second nature, and soon you will fly straight. Okay? I promise."

I tried to allow Brady's words to calm my nerves, but my heart refused to cease its pounding.

"Okay?" He repeated.

I nodded, still not finding it in me to completely meet his gaze.

"Alright." He said, standing. "You are going to need a running start to get airborne. Why don't you run a quick lap to get warmed up?"

I nodded and took off at a brisk jog, circling the big room and finding my way back to Brady.

"Alright, let's see your wings."

Rolling my shoulders forward, I extended my wings. The stretching I had done in the dull hours of the night had paid off. My wings extended smoothly and without hesitation, though my shoulders still ached horribly.

"Very good. Okay, I want you to take off at a sprint and slowly open your wings. When they catch the air you may need to jump, I just want to see how much air you can catch."

I nodded and did as instructed, sprinting off and allowing my wings to stretch out behind me. I felt my body temporarily become weightless for a moment before my feet hit the concrete again. I followed the same drill again, and each time that momentary weightlessness grew ever so slightly longer.

"Alright, looks good so far. Let's try getting a rhythm to them."

Brady held his arms out, signaling me to flap my wings. I did as he told, and with each painful thrust of my wings I felt myself briefly getting lifted off the ground.

"Okay, this time when you sprint, I want you to try and flap your wings like that."

Again, I nodded and took off at a sprint.

I leaned forward, my head tucked down, and pulled my wings out and up, allowing the air to catch them and pull me up. I felt the air suddenly pull me back and immediately thrust my wings down, shooting up into the air.

I dropped alarmingly back towards the ground before I remembered to flap my wings again. Slowly, I lifted myself up off of the floor, thrusting my wings up and then back down violently.

Every pull of a muscle hurt me, every time my wings bore my weight it stung. I could feel the membrane of my wings being stretched to capacity. But I continued to climb through the air.

_Let your instincts take over; it will become second nature._

Brady's words rang through my head. I took my eyes off the floor and stared blankly ahead, allowing my muscles to work independently. I rocked my body forward and pulled my legs up, trying to keep my body straight as possibly, and thrust my wings out and up again.

I was flying.

I could hear the Whitecoats beneath me cheer and Brady called up to me.

"Okay very good! Now come down, don't let your wings get tired, or you'll drop."

Immediately, I obeyed and wheeled around towards him. I folded my wings in a moment and allowed my body to drop before shooting my wings out again. They caught me like a parachute, and I fluttered down and landed in a crouch on the table.

I pulled my wings in, feeling them fold neatly in an "X" across my back. All the Whitecoats smiled at me.

"Good job forty-three. I knew you could do it." Brady said.

A smile beamed from my face. I had done it. I was the first success. I had proved wrong all the statistics stacked against me. I was worthy of the title Chiroptera.

I saw a few Erasers come into the room, several of them heading over to the Whitecoats' table and helping them stack up the heavy monitoring equipment, lifting it effortlessly over their heads and carrying it out of the big room. One of the Erasers, I had heard others call him Ari, came up to me.

"Hey, saw the whole thing. Nice job midget."

He smiled crookedly at me, his teeth already half morphed into fangs. He was always teasing me, called me "midget" and constantly reminding me how weak I was. I wasn't created for strength, I was created for speed. I could outrun Ari any day of the week. I gazed at him with my one twisted eye, and I saw his smile momentarily fade, but one of the Whitecoats called him over, and he turned away from me.

I heard the doors creak open again and saw three Whitecoats escorting Crimson into the big room. She saw me and ran towards me.

"Chica!" She flung her arms around my shoulders. "How did it go?"

I smiled at her and extended my wings.

"You flew?!" She asked excitedly.

I nodded happily, my eyes half-moons of joy. Crimson jumped and clapped her hands.

"Yay! Oh, my gosh that is so cool!"

"Twenty-seven! Forty-three! Come here a moment please."

Crimson and I went over to where Brady stood. He knelt down in front of us, his usually soft eyes cold and serious.

"I've got a job for you. It's top-secret. Nobody can know, alright?"

Crimson and I looked at each other a moment, then back at Brady. Both of us nodded silently.

"Good. Now, you see this?"

Brady held up a picture of a small girl, probably five or six years old. She had blond hair and big blue eyes, and a pair of white angelic wings.

"She is one of ours, but she ran away. She is with a few others. They aren't any of your concern yet. But, I need you to find her. The two of you. Can you do that?"

Immediately all of the tracking lessons and the survival skills that Brady had been drilling into us the last few months made sense.

Crimson nodded.

"Yes." She said.

Brady looked at me, his gaze fixed within in mine.

I nodded. Then, raising my hands, I signed

_We will find her._


	5. Chapter 5

The wind whipped hard at my face and sent my hair flying about my shoulders. I had tied it into a loose braid to keep it from irritating me, but apparently that hadn't done the trick, and it proceeded to thoroughly annoy me. From where I hovered just above the trees, I could see Crimson on the ground, her dull brown garb confusing her silhouette with the earth. She scrambled busily about, scraping up a bit of dirt in her hand and letting it sift through her fingers, then running over to a tree and sniffing it delicately. I rolled my eyes. She was taking forever. It was her idea to stop our tracking and investigate the area. She had insisted that she smelled a humanoid scent, and being that we were in an area completely devoid of human activity, I suppose it was worth a quick investigation.

But not worth half an hour of scrounging around aimlessly

Finally, I decided we had wasted enough time.

Fluttering down, I shifted the book bag I had slung over my shoulder to my other side, folding my wings in. I stomped my foot to get Crimson's attention, she whipped around and looked at me, somewhat irritated.

"What?"

I lifted my closed left fist and held my right index finger to it. Crimson grunted.

"I know, I know! I'm taking a long time… but I seriously think we have got something here."

Without waiting for a response, she spun back around and continued digging for evidence. I groaned and tossed my head back, gazing up at the sky.

The sun was going down, and stars were just beginning to dot the darkening sky.

We wouldn't be making any more progress tonight. I slung the book bag off of my shoulder and tossed it down at the base of a nearby tree. Taking out two small packages, I threw one to Crimson. Then, extending my wings, I half jumped and half flew up to a low branch and settled quite comfortably, my provision of food in my lap. After eating, I watched Crimson rummage about on the forest floor a while before shifting into my usual sleeping position and wrapping my wings securely about me. Within moments I was asleep.

I woke suddenly to a distant shriek.

_What?_

I immediately shot a look downwards. Crimson was curled up at the base of the tree, her small package of food empty next to her hand. I looked carefully at her until I saw her chest gently rise. I breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly, the shriek came again.

Snapping my wings out, I took my legs from around the branch and swung upward, flying off towards the strange noise. As the occasional scream grew louder, I hovered lower above the treetops. Then, suddenly, I saw a strange building looming up in the distance.

It was situated on a hill, will stilts holding the part of the structure that protruded out from the earth. The building itself looked kind of like an "E" turned on its side.

I heard the muffled yell again, and flew closer. I circled the house a few moments, then suddenly noticed though one window, a young girl tossing about in her bed. She looked human, maybe eighteen years old. She had sandy blonde hair that was oily and unkempt. She seemed to be having some sort of nightmare. Then, suddenly, she sat bolt upright, screaming. The girl clutched her clothes nervously, looking down at her chest. Her rapid breathing slowly calmed, and she leaned forward in her bed.

Then I saw her wings.

Two golden brown and white speckled avian wings were folded against her back. I could see a few course feathers poking out from beneath her nightclothes.

The little girl had escaped with others.

I decided I had best investigate the rest of the strange house before making an official report. I climbed around the wall of the house until I found another window. Looking inside, I could see a girl, younger than the other, with dark skin and hair sleeping peacefully in her bed. In the corner, a sea of stuffed animals, blankets, and other fuzzy things covered a small person. I saw the little person squirm a moments, and, unless my eye deceived me, the little person had blond hair.

Opening the window silently, I slipped inside the house and crawled up the wall, dangling from the ceiling. Digging the thumb joints of my wings into the ceiling, I clung tightly and craned my head back around, trying to get a good look at the little person. She lay curled up within a sea of blankets, clutching numerous stuffed animals to her chest. A soft looking white blanket lay over her shoulders. Wait, not blanket. Wings.

Small, blond hair, escaped with others, white, angelic wings. She was the one.

I quickly made my way back to the window and scampered out into the air right as I heard the door of the room slam open.

My wings beat hard and fast as I made my way back to where I had left Crimson. When I returned, she was still asleep. I shook her furiously.

"Wha?! What?! What is it?!"

Quickly, I signed,

I found the girl.

Crimson looked at me blankly a moment before she registered my silent words.

"You found her?! Where!?"

I pointed off in the general direction of the house while pulling the small laptop Brady had given me out of the book bag. A quick message received an immediate response.

The Erasers were on their way.


	6. Chapter 6

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little miss midget." Ari chuckled and crooned at me.

I smiled sweetly at him, pretending not to be annoyed by his crude humor. My one eye twinkled in the morning light and Ari averted his gaze.

"Just go get in the helicopter, you and your tiny midget friend."

"Oh, put a sock in it giggles." Said Crimson casually as she walked past Ari to where the helicopter was waiting. I stifled a smile and followed her into the big aircraft.

Once seated and strapped in securely, I could hear Ari over the receiver.

Out of all the static all I could make out of Ari's voice was,

"Approaching target."

I rolled my eyes. Ari thought he was just so cool.

A few dull minutes passed. Crimson and I amused ourselves by talking about Ari and his stupidity in sign language.

It would have been more fun if Crimson new what I was saying.

Suddenly, loud feedback came crashing through the radio scanner. Crimson yelped and covered her ears. A harsh mixture of screaming and static rang through my ears.

"Start… engine!"

The big helicopter sprang to life, it's engine revving loudly, blades humming.

I poked my head out of the side of the aircraft and saw the Erasers sprinting towards us at full speed.

They looked horrible, what bruised and bleeding. Apparently those bird kids could really put up a fight.

I saw six specks emerge from the surrounding woods. A boy with dark ebony hair and glossy black wings sprang at one of the Erasers, wrapping his arms tightly about his throat. The Eraser slashed violently at the boy's arms, causing the boy to recoil with a yelp, his arm dripping with blood.

Suddenly a big brown sack thudded into the helicopter, sliding over to Crimson and mine's feet. The sack writhed and squirmed, and I saw a blond head begin to poke its way out of the sack.

"Hey! Come on! Let's get out of here!"

The helicopter was already a good ways off the ground. Then suddenly a bang sounded, and the sandy haired girl had her arm flung around the landing gear of the helicopter. Her face was stained with tears and her body was bloody and bruised. Ari laughed and pulled a gun, cocking it over her head.

"You've got it all wrong Max, we're the good guys!"

There was a painfully tense second, and the girl finally let go, plummeting to the ground right as the little blond head shook free of the brown sack.

Ari grabbed the tiny girl and shoved her back into the sack.

"Stay down and shut up, you little brat!"

The ride back to The School was long and silent. I never realized how far Crimson and I had ventured until I had to sit still the entire way.

Upon going back, Crimson and I were informed we were now allowed to venture in and out of our rooms as we pleased.

"You've earned it." Brady had said, smiling at me. "You made us proud."

So, there we were. Free, like the Erasers, to wander to our heart's content. The school was not that large a place, and so we usually just found ourselves back in our room.

One day, I was wandering along the cool hallways when I happened to pass a containment unit. Curiosity got the best of me, and I peeked in through the open door. I saw rows of crates and cages, many of which housed test subjects of the most peculiar kind.

Then, at the other end, I saw a row of crates, all slightly different sizes, lined up against the wall. Six of them total, all empty.

All except one.

The small girl with blond hair and angel wings was curled up in the smallest of the crates. She had a white hospital gown on and bandages on her wrist from where blood had been drawn. A quick investigation proved that she was crying. Her shoulders shuddered occasionally and her cheeks had shiny trails of water on them.

I found myself inching closer. There was just something about this small little angel that intrigued me.

Soon, I stood right in front of her cage, gazing at her.

She must have heard my breath, because she dried her eyes and looked up at me.

"You… you're not a Whitecoat." She said, somewhat confused.

I shook my head, giggling to myself.

"Why… what… how are you out? Are you trying to escape?"

I shook my head. Escape what? I had an easy life, everything I needed was right here.

"Oh, what? Do… do you like it here?" She continued.

I looked at her and nodded, somewhat confused. Why did she hate this place enough to run away? They treated us well. They accepted us for the creatures we were. We weren't human; the outside world would never accept us. This was our refuge, our sanctuary.

And yet, all that this creature wanted to do was get out. Get out and attempt to live among the humans, pretend to be one of them. Why?

"I don't get it…" She spoke more to herself this time than me. "You like being kept in a cage? Getting needles stuck all over you? Being made to run till your lungs break?"

I crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one leg, listening curiously. This little angel had such evil and contempt housed within her tiny body.

"Really? I mean… what do you have here that's so precious?"

Immediately, my mind faded to Brady. The one thing I strived for more than anything was his approval. To hear him say the words 'I'm proud of you.' Crimson too, she was like my sister….

"So… really? A Whitecoat?" Came the little girl's voice. I leapt back. How did she…?

The little girl smiled devilishly at me.

"I can read minds, didn't you know that?"

I turned and ran. What sort of devilish creature was this? What on earth could…

"Fourty-three!" I heard Brady's voice down the hall. I turned to see him striding swiftly towards me.

"Ah, there you are. Come along, I have another job for you."

As he spoke he picked me and carried me off down the hallway and into a small room. A few minutes later, another Whitecoat led Crimson in. She crawled up and joined me on the table.

Brady faced us and sighed.

"I need to send you our again." He said simply.

"But, this time… it's going to be a bit more… well… complex."

Crimson and I looked at each other, then back at him.

"You guys are going to need to find the other five as soon as you can. Our intelligence told us that the flock of them has split up. Two of them are still near the house, the other three are apparently on their way here. I need you to find and track the other three's whereabouts and tell us how soon you think they will get here. Can you do that for me?"

Crimson and I both nodded.

"Good. I have supplies ready for you already. Same as last time, keep this hush hush. Top secret you understand." Crimson nodded and walked past Brady into the hallway. Looking up at him I signed,

'Don't worry. We got this.'

**_Author's Note: _**

**_I am so very sorry for the wait! Thanks so much for your patience! More reviews are always welcome ;) Thanks for reading!_**


	7. Chapter 7

Crimson and I were completely miserable. True, we were to follow our orders to the end, find the three mutants that were apparently on their way towards the School at this very moment. But did that really require going undercover? As per our instructions, we were to blend in as much as possible, and wait for a sighting of the three.

I ended up in a milky cream lace dress and a close fitting jean jacket, a pair of brown laced booties on my feet. My hair had been pinned in a way that perfectly concealed my pointy ears, and Brady has custom made a set of contacts that rendered my eyes humanoid enough to pass for normal, at least if you didn't look too hard, since I had quickly noticed one of them was painted, just ever so slightly, off. It was as if I was looking beyond everything. But then, I always am.

Crimson was another story. With her unnatural hair color and big, pointy ears, she couldn't blend in quite as easily as I could. She had been fitted with a pair of tight black pants and a red shirt with a black lace vest over it. She wore black combat style boots. Her red hair had been twisted into dreadlocks and tied up, and a pair of bright colored headphones covered her spiky ears.

I thought the two of us looked quite the sight, but as we walked the streets, side by side with the humans, I discovered we seemed to fit right in. These humans sure had their strange ways.

But, even by fitting in with the crowd. Two 'children' wandering about town caused some suspicion.

Crimson and I were rather small, I was only about the size of probably a ten or eleven year old human. Crimson could barely pass for a fourteen year old. I was smaller than Crimson. She had a straight frame and stood a good six or seven inches taller than me. I was shorter and curvier, my waist tiny and my hips wide. I was thirteen in human years, at least if I had counted correctly. The first years of my life were a blur. I was crazy and wild, and was required to be kept in a cage to refrain from injuring myself or anyone else. I wasn't even sure how old Crimson literally was.

Now, it was dark and rainy, and Crimson and I trudged aimlessly along. It had been some time since we left the School, and we had found an abandoned cellar under a vacant house that served our needs quite well, but I was beginning to worry we had missed the three bird-children. Suddenly as we made our way back towards the cellar after another day of no sightings, a woman jogged up to us.

"You two, where on earth are your parents? It's late out. Shouldn't you be home right now?"

A look of concern crossed the face of the woman who stood before us. She wore business attire and carried an expensive looking leather briefcase.

Immediately, Crimson and I followed our rehearsed routine. I cowered behind Crimson and his my face, pretending to be horribly shy, where in reality I just couldn't allow the woman to see my eyes, she would notice my flawed sight.

Crimson shushed me gently, assuming the 'big sister' attitude.

"Yeah, we are on our way back home right now, just down a ways and a right turn."

The woman didn't seem convinced.

"I'll walk with the two of you. Rumors in town of gang activity, don't want you two little ones getting caught up in that."

Crimson and I shot each other a nervous glance, but followed the woman nonetheless.

What were we doing in this town again? Brady told me he had mapped it out and found that this was a likely stop for the three mutants, if not this exact town then somewhere not far. He said he would be able to tell me exactly where to go when they got close. I wondered how.

There was a sudden 'pop', and gun smoke came to my senses. I tugged violently at Crimson's arm.

"I heard it too." She whispered.

We had to investigate. Crimson and I slowed our steps and prepared to run to the woods, where I had heard the shot.

The woman's cell phone rang, this was our chance. We darted for the woods.

There was another resounding bang, and an almost immediate yelp. Someone had been shot. Crimson and I ran harder, knowing we were most likely running straight into the jaws of death.

Suddenly, the sandy haired girl from before zipped past us. Her hand was on her shoulder, blood gushing from between her fingers.

Crimson and I dove for cover. Luckily, the girl was completely oblivious to our presence, what with someone running after her and shooting at her.

I shoved Crimson down and signed for her to remain silent. Luckily, she understood me this time and nodded.

I leapt up into the trees, snapped out my wings, and began to circle back towards the attackers.

True… the sandy haired girl was a runaway, but she was also a valuable subject.

I was to protect her as much as I was to trace her.

Beneath me I saw the shadows of a human. There may have been more than one, but the rain and fog made it too difficult to see. However my eyes caught the glimmer of metal in one of the shadow's hands, and I immediately knew he was my target.

Acting faster than I thought, I shot down at him and managed to slam my body against his with enough force to not only knock the gun out of his hands, but also to render him unconscious on the forest floor.

I scrambled after the gun, picked it up, and was just as quickly up in the air again and heading after the sandy haired girl.

It took me a good fifteen minutes to trace the blood all the way back into town, and to a small house.

I could see a quick rustle of activity in the house as a tall, kind looking woman retrieved a first aid kit from underneath her kitchen sink and went down the hall.

I suddenly remembered Crimson and took to the air to return to her.

I found her huddled at the base of the tree I had left her by.

"Well?"

I held up the gun in one hand, removing the magazine carefully with the other.

"And she's alright?"

I nodded.

"Okay, I guess we'd better contact the Whitecoats."

I nodded again and we made our way back to the cellar.

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Aah! Thanks to all you lovelies for being so patient! Hopefully I will be keeping up this story at a quicker pace now that some things in life have died down a bit . Anyways, here is the new chapter, hope you like it! Please review ^_^**_


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning found Crimson and I wandering the outskirts of town. There wasn't much we could do concerning the sandy-haired girl, so until we received further orders, we had to find other ways to amuse ourselves out among the world of the humans.

Crimson and I wandered for hours, occasionally stopping whenever Crimson felt the urge to run off after a mouse or a finch burrowing in the grass. Call it instinct. As for me, I hated walking and made a point of crawling up into the closest tree whenever I could. My back had begun to ache terribly, a trait I attributed to sore muscles from the craziness of the recent events.

Eventually, we veered from the main road that traveled in and out of town we had been following and headed towards the rocky hills.

"So… we going anywhere in particular?" Crimson asked, her eyes fixed on what was probably a mouse far off to her right. I shrugged, not bothering to sign an answer as she wasn't looking for one.

"Gotchya!"

She giggled and leapt into the tall grass.

"Whoa…."

I moaned and turned back around. Crimson was kneeling in the grass, looking up at me.

'_What?'_ I signed.

She lifted up a bloody, mangled feather. It was a glossy, deep black, glinting violet in the sunlight. It was large, far too large to come from a raven or a magpie.

I cocked my head curiously and took the feather from her. I sniffed it gently; it smelled of a human's scent. My sensitive eye traced over its length carefully. Then, tangled in the blood and smooth down fibers, I found what I was looking for. A smile must have crept over my face because Crimson stirred.

"What?"

I gently pulled out a long, sandy brown human hair from the feather.

Crimson nodded.

"The rest are close."

I nodded back.

"Well, come on! We should find them!" She leapt up excitedly and pranced off through the grass.

"I didn't realize there were so many of them, I wonder if each one of them has a different type of wing? Oh, oh! I wonder…."

I rolled my eyes and covered my ears, falling in step behind her as she rambled on.

Night eventually crept in on us, and we decided we would spend the night in a small crevice formed by the rocks. Tossing our coats on the ground, we created a suitable sleeping arrangement. No one would find us out here. We were far enough off the main road, and if a passing human happened to see some coats lying on the ground in the distance they would simply think a homeless person was sleeping there. Of course. They always ignored the homeless. It would work.

I took the first shift of the night, my one eye taking in everything in the darkness.

My eyelids had just begun to droop when a sudden rustle of activity above me caused them to snap open. Immediately I was on my feet, poking my head out of the crevice of rock that was currently serving as a bedroom.

There was a gentle rustle on the wind again, then silence. I scanned from left to right, then back again.

Nothing.

Not even a breeze shifted the grass.

Then, there was a sudden flurry of feathers and a hand clamped over my mouth and I was yanked up by the back of my shirt collar. I yelped and squirmed violently, but a pair of thin arms held me tight. I was slammed onto my back with someone's hand at my throat. In the darkness, I saw a clenched fist draw back and I bucked wildly in my attacker's hold. The hand at my throat tightened, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Who the hell are you?"

A calm voice echoed in my ears. I could tell restraining me wasn't difficult for whoever or whatever was now kneeling above me. I gasped and tried to pry the hand at my throat loose.

"Why are you following Max?"

I opened my mouth as if to speak, pointing to my mouth. I couldn't speak! Even if I had an answer to give, I couldn't speak it. My head was throbbing and my throat was clenched tight. I began to panic.

Was this it? Was I going to die?

"Hey!" I glanced over as Crimson leapt over the edge of the rocks and leapt at the mass of black cloth and feathers over me. Whatever was holding me slammed my head down into the ground and released me. I moaned and clasped my hands over my now bleeding head.

I saw Crimson slash wildly at the shadowy figure before the pair fell and tumbled over the edge of the rocks. Then I blacked out.

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Ah! Cliffhanger! x3 Ha ha, I do realize this chapter is a little bit shorter, but I decided I would rather leave you all with a cliffhanger ending rather than a higher word count *giggle***_

_**Read and review for next chapter!**_

_**I may be discontinuing - whether permanantly or temporarily I do not yet know - either this or one other Fan Fiction of mine. Give me some feedback, let me know what you think of this story and if you would like to see it continued :D**_


	9. Chapter 9

I swallowed hard and forced myself to get up, straining with my good eye into the dark in an attempt to find Crimson and the attacker. Glancing over the edge of the rocks, I found them. They struggled and flailed about, each trying to land a blow on the other. Moving quicker than I thought, I snapped my wings out and dove down towards Crimson. I grabbed her arms and swung my leg out, catching the assailant in the rib cage. I turned and leapt up into the air, dragging Crimson away with me. I quickly set her down up on the rocks and rolled back in the air to face my opponent. A hard punch rocked my skull and I moaned before returning with a high kick up into the shadow's stomach. A gentle grunt echoed from the figure, but a pair of strong hands came back grabbed my hair tight, flinging me through the air and across the jagged rocks. Anger seeped into my blood, mingling dangerously with the adrenaline already coursing through me. I jumped up and wrapped my arms right around the shadow's neck and squeezed for all I was worth. I felt my victim shudder and slow, gagging for air. A pair of cold hands tried to pull me away, but though my opponent was strong, I had the advantage. Then, suddenly, the thing sprouted wings and shot up into the air. I heard Crimson scream out, but the wind whistling in my ears made it impossible to decipher what she had said. I felt myself get flung towards the ground and my back cracked hard against a tree. Something pinned me and a gnarly voice screamed in my face.

"Answer me!"

"She can't!"

I opened one eye and looked down. Crimson was shuffling up the base of the tree, desperation on her face.

"She can't speak!"

Whatever held me loosened their hold enough for me to breathe, and I collapsed on a branch beneath me, sucking air into my lungs.

"Why are you two following Max?!"

"It's what we were told to do."

"By the Whitecoats?"

"Well, yeah. Obviously."

The shadow slowly shook his head, almost as if out of pity.

"You think they care, don't you? You think they want to find Max for her own benefit. You believe they want to help."

Crimson and I glanced at one another. We were treated well - accepted and cared for - why would these mutants be treated any different from us?

"You're mistaken if you think they care at all. They're all monsters, demons - they care only for the paycheck."

The figure glared at us and I finally saw his face. He was olive toned with dark eyes and hair that shimmered in the dim moonlight. His expression was sad yet determined, full of hopelessness yet passion. He straightened up, spreading violent black wings out to balance himself.

"You'll learn eventually. Or die, one of the two. But I have a family to protect, and if you two endanger us, I will kill you."

With that, the boy leaned back and fell into the air, rising up and out of sight on black wings that melted into the night sky.

_**Author's Note: I realize that this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the others. My apologies, but I simply did not want to cram too much into one chapter.**_

_**Please review if you want me to continue :) that way I know people are still reading this.**_


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